1. Asian Ethnicity
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Contemporary shamanisms in Mongolia
Mátyás Balogh*
Department of Inner-Asian Studies, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
The aim of this paper is to outline the current situation of shamanism in Mongolia.
It examines the relationship between shamanism and ethnicity, the phenomenon of
urban shamanism and the emergence of shaman associations and shamanic enterprises
in Ulaanbaatar. The study is based on a year-long field-work in Mongolia 2004‒05,
during which the author came into contact with the ‘Heaven’s Dagger’ association and
had interviews with the members, and attended a number of shamanistic rituals that
they conducted. The field study was conducted at a time when these associations and
enterprises had already ‘grown up’, i.e. they had recruited a vast number of members
and attracted enough clients to operate, but still had not reached the stage of economic
prosperity. This was also the time when the partly conscious attempt of forging a
standardized Mongolian shamanism mainly from Darkhat and Buryat sources and the
recreation of Khalkha shamanism began to take place.
Keywords: Mongolian shamanism; Darkhat; Buryat; Khalkha; Uriankhai; urban
shamanism
Shamans in Mongolia
In the past two decades, a vast number of shamans have appeared and reappeared in
Mongolia, and shamanism and the concepts and theories connected to it have started to gain
more and more popularity. Besides the revival of genuine shamanic traditions, a kind of
Mongolian neo-shamanism came into existence in the 1990s.
A number of modern Mongolian shamans have their own offices and staff, like any other
enterprise in the major towns in the country. These are usually called Böögiin zan üiliin
töw (Centre of Shamanic Activities) in Mongolian. In most cases the head of a centre is a
shaman, a high proportion of whom are often self-appointed. Many of those who used to
be folk artists during the communist era started to practise as shamans after the fall of the
regime. Performers of any kind of folk art, which they believe to have something in common
with shamanism, often feel predestined to become shamans and claim that their artistic
activity used to be the manifestation of their shamanic power, suppressed by the communist
ideology. According to Mongolian traditions, however, the one who is predestined to practise
shamanism never feels this predestination and does not want to undertake the fearful task of
acting as a vehicle for the spirits. It is believed that they only become shamans when they
are forced and tortured by the spirits to such an extent that they cannot bear it any longer.
The shamanic vocation usually manifests in a long-lasting mysterious illness ‒ the shaman’s
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illness (böögiin öwčin) ‒ with the symptoms of epileptic seizures (tataj unax) and losing
consciousness. According to tradition none can cure this illness but the sick person him/
herself by accepting the shamanic vocation. It is always an experienced elderly shaman who
diagnoses the shaman’s illness and accepts the sufferer as his/her apprentice. In most cases
those who are prone to this kind of illness are members of a shamanic lineage (udam), which
they might not know of prior to their initiation.
In the Mongolian cultural region and even within the borders of Mongolia there are a
number of shamanic traditions, which can greatly differ from each other, but the ways of
becoming a shaman are very similar in all of them.
In Mongolia, shamanism is chiefly practised by minority groups such as the Darkhat, the
Buryat or the Uriankhai. Superhuman knowledge and spiritual power are often attributed to
these ethnicities.
Territories of Mongolian shamanism
In Mongolia the shamanic traditions of different ethnic groups are regarded as different ways
and traditions of practising Mongolian shamanism, when in fact none of these traditions have
Mongol roots. The shamanism of the Darkhats is closely related to that of the neighbouring
Tuvans, and many of the contemporary Darkhat shamans are descendants of famous Tuvan
shamans. According to ethnographic accounts the Darkhat ethnic group comprises a number
of clans of Tuvan origin.1 The Uriankhai, also known as Mončoog, is also an ethnic group of
Tuvan origin inhabiting the Mongolian Altai. The shamanic practices of the Buryats resemble
those of the Ewenk and Daur. Most Buryat dieties, shamanic tools, accessories and rituals
have their Ewenk and Daur equivalents which are alien to the Darkhats and Uriankhais. For
instance, the consecration of shaman-apprentices known as shanar among the Buryats is
also known and performed in a similar way among the Bargas, Daurs and different tungusic-
speaking ethnic groups in Manchuria. Two of the most important spirits in the Buryat shaman
pantheon Abagaldai and Xoimoriin aaw are widely known among the shamans of these
peoples. Likewise the names of spirits that are amongst the most well known ones in Darkhat
shamanism as for example Iwidää yum, Xosiin aaw, Delden Mend, Ärildää börgöd etc.
and who are all related to a shaman of Tuvan ethnicity shaman Jotog are not known to the
Buryats, Bargas or Daurs at all. There are only basic commonalities like the concept of the
tripartite world2 or that of the 99 tengris (deities) that connect these otherwise clearly distinct
shamanic ambiences.
It is the language of the shaman’s ritual songs which happens to be Mongolian and the
Mongolian identity of the shamans that make these different shamanisms Mongolian.
The territory of the Khorchin-Mongols, Southwest inner Mongolia and the western parts
of Jilin province in China, which I refer to as the south-western region, is another centre of
proliferating shamanism. The shamanism of the Khorchins has also very few in common with
1Nyambuu, Mongoliin Ugsaatnii Züi, 133‒134.
2Thisis a world consisting of an underworld, a middle world between earth and sky, and an upper
world or heaven.
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the shamanism of the Darkhats, Buryats and others but has more proximity with that of the
Manchu and Shibe. For this entire territory is outside the pale of Mongolia and thus does not
exert much influence over other Mongolian shamanic traditions I am not going to elaborate
on its distinctive features.
The Darkhat territory
The Darkhats live in north-west Mongolia west of Lake Khövsgöl in the Darkhat-Basin. This
area is regarded by many Mongolians as an exotic and remote region where the purest form
of Mongolian shamanism managed to survive. The Darkhats, in the minds of the Mongols,
especially in Ulaanbaatar, are often regarded as dangerous people, endowed with the special
ability of calling down curses to those who treated them badly. It is believed by many that
Darkhat descent goes hand in hand with possessing numinous powers. Besides the Darkhats
another ethnic group, the Tsaatan ‒ numbering about 1000 individuals ‒ is regarded as
having the most powerful shamans. The Tsaatans are one of the poorest, if not the poorest,
people of Mongolia, making their living from reindeer breeding and hunting. They are
of Tuvan origin, and their elders still speak a dialect of Tuvan language. Their traditional
lifestyle differs greatly from that of the neighbouring Darkhats and other Mongolian groups.
Their peripheral position, different language and lifestyle make the Darkhats believe that
what the Tsaatans practise is the essence of shamanism. The rituals, costumes and tools
of Tsaatan and Darkhat shamans do not show significant differences: the greatest of all
differences is the language; Tsaatan shamans are more likely to conduct their rituals in their
own Tuvan language, while Darkhats rarely utter words of Tuvan origin during their rituals.
Darkhat and Tsaatan shamanism is often referred to as ‘pure black’ (cewer xar)
shamanism, for it is believed that its concepts and practices are void of any Buddhist
influence.3 However, the Darkhats and Tsaatans do make a distinction between two kinds of
black (xariin böö) and yellow shamans (šariin böö), the latter being a religious practitioner
employing a mixture of Buddhist and shamanist methods and ideas in his/her practice. There
is also a third category of shamans, the white shaman (cagaanii böö), who is interpreted by
the Darkhats as the shaman who communicates with the spirits of the heaven (tenger) and
does not ‒ and according to some cannot ‒ use his/her power to harm people or any kind of
living being. Consequently, the black shamans are feared by many for their abilities of calling
down evil forces. Therefore, shamans who in fact practise black shamanism tend to introduce
themselves to their clients as white shamans and explain that they never do harm to people.
The ideas of yellow shamanism seem to overlap with those of white shamanism. A
Tsaatan yellow shaman from the district of Ulaan-uul claimed that only yellow shamans are
beneficial for the people, only they can serve them in a righteous way. He said that the yellow
shaman heals the sick, while the sickness is caused by black shamans’ curses.4 The Buddhist
3Buddhism among the Mongols is also widely known as the ‘yellow faith’ (šariin šašin) hence the
term ‘yellow shaman’ (šariin böö).
4Shaman C. in Ulaan-Uul, Khövsgöl, 2005. Personal communication.
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idea of alleviating the sufferings of the living beings is very much emphasized in yellow or
white shamanism. Black shamans, who admit that they follow the black direction (xar züg),
also seem to hold to these principles, adding that they are much more powerful than the
yellow and white shamans, and they only use their superb power over evil forces when there
is a need to defend themselves from the curses of their envious rivals.
Among the Darkhats and Tsaatans a distinction between powerful and less powerful
rituals can be observed. The less powerful one is called ‘shamanizing on foot’ (yawgan
böölöx). Daytime, usually divinations (mereg tölög) are performed, or later appointments
with the shaman are arranged. During these daytime visits the shaman would diagnose
clients’ illnesses or other problems by inquiring the spirits about the causes and the way
the illnesses or any other problems should be cured or solved. The ritual that is conducted
in order to solve a client’s problem is a typical night time ritual (šönö böölöx), also known
as ‘shamanizing with a drum’ (xengeregtei böölöx), for the shaman’s spirits are believed to
ride his/her mount (unaa), the drum, during these rituals. Night time rituals require donning
the full shamanic costume, referred to as ‘armour’ (xöö xuyag) because the evil forces to be
fought and ousted by the shaman are held to be hostile and powerful. The shaman’s armour
is also an arsenal of miniature weapons made of forged iron. In comparison, during daytime
rituals shamans only wear a traditional gown (deel) and a headscarf (alčuur). Though the
daytime ritual is called ‘shamanizing on foot’ Darkhat shamans might play their jaw harp
(aman xuur, xel xuur), which is also considered to be a kind of mount of the shaman as it is
kept in a wooden box always with an image of a racing horse on its top.
The Buryat territory
The northern parts of the two eastern provinces of Mongolia, Xentii and Dornod, are mainly
inhabited by Buryats. Their parents, grandparents and great grandparents emigrated from
Russia during the 1920s and 1930s. The reasons for their migration were the increasing
Russian influence and the growing number of Russian settlers in their territories, the
situations created by the Russo-Japanese war, World War I and the Russian Revolution of
1917. Mongolia’s independence from the rule of the Manchus in 1911 raised the Buryats
hopes that they could live a peaceful life and would have the possibility to preserve their
traditional lifestyle in Mongolia. Many of the renowned shamans of that era came along with
the emigrants and now their apprentices are the well-known shamans of the territory.
During 60 years after the 1930s it was prohibited to practise shamanism in Mongolia,
but shamanic initiations and other rituals were performed in secret. Since the 1990s Buryat
shamanism has become more and more known to people in Mongolia, but books that
are published are in Mongolian and on Mongolian shamanism; not much is written on
the shamanism of the Buryats. The northern parts of Xentii and Dornod are viewed as a
secondary centre of Mongolian shamanism.
In the 1990s, at the beginning of the great revival of the religious life in Mongolia, elderly
Buryat shamans started to accept clients from the Russian Buryats and they received many of
those afflicted by the mysterious shamans’ illness as their apprentices. Some of the masters
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initiated not only Buryat but also Khalkha individuals into shamanhood. The initiation and
the practice of these Khalkha and later other non-Buryat apprentices required a set of rules
and regulations that would make a clear distinction between them and the Buryats. The
rules were applied to the non-Buryat shamans’ initiation and consecration rituals, and their
costume and paraphernalia. In the consecration rituals of the Buryats, birch trees (Buryat
xuha) are erected at the sacral site, but in the same ritual some Buryat masters replaced them
with pine trees (gacuur). The birch, venerated as a sort of sacred tree by the Buryats, seemed
inappropriate to use for religious purposes of other ethnicities.
Certain accessories of the shamanic costume are also to indicate their wearers’ descent,
but most of their tools are the same as those of the Buryats. For instance, instead of a Buryat-
style round skull-cap (Buryat maixabša) they wear a headgear adorned with vulture-feathers,
but their shamanic whip, which they use for purification and blessing during the rituals, is
made of the same material and has the same miniature weapons hung on it as that of the
Buryats. The distinctive features of non-Buryat shamans’ requisites and rituals are allusions
to characteristics of the particular ethnicity attributed to them by the Buryats. In case of the
apprentices, for example, one would find a number of Buddhist symbols on their costumes
and Buddhist elements in their practices. This is in accordance with the fact that Buryats
regard Khalkhas as an ethnic group having been exposed to Buddhist influence to a greater
extent than themselves.
The most well-known Buryat shaman in Mongolia, Ch. Tseren (Čoijiliin Ceren), was the
one who had the most apprentices, numbering about 300, and he was the one who made most
of the rules and regulations of Buryat shamanism applicable to non-Buryat apprentices. His
apprentices spoke of him as the master who reconnected them with their shamanic traditions
(Khalkha böögiin udmiig zalguulj ögsön) that had been blurred by the Buddhist ideas during
the past centuries. Thus Buryat shamanism started to become the basis of a new Mongolian
shamanism, a ménage of different traditions.
Originally in Buryat shamanism the distinction between powerful and less powerful
shamans and rituals, similarly to what we can see among the Darkhats, is manifested by the
contrast of ‘black’ and ‘white’, Black shamans (Buryat xara zügei böö, xara talai böö, xarain
böö) are regarded to possess serious magic power and be capable of solving serious problems
and cure serious illnesses. Ordinary peoples’ attitude towards black shamans, whether they
are Buryats or Darkhats, is usually the same ‒ they are feared for their powers. A Buryat
shamaness, Altantsetseg (Altanceceg), at the beginning of an interview in relation to her
shamanic practice, said that she performed various kinds of rituals except for curses (xaraal
žatxa) and anything that she might consider harmful. As she explained, Buryat shamans have
to take ninety-nine oaths5 (yürön yühön tangarag) during their first initiation, which prevents
them from causing any kind of harm: it is prohibited to endanger human life (xünii amind
xürexgüi), put obstacles in people’s way (xünd saad xiixgüi) and quarrel (xerüül margaan
xiixiig xorgilono), but they have to help all the living creatures (xamag amitnii tusiin tuld
yawana).
White shamans (Buryat sagaanai böö) are not regarded as ‘real shamans’ (jinxene
5For more about shamans-oaths see: Gantogtox, ‘Böögiin šaxangiin üg xelleg’.
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böö biš‒not real shaman) but as bone-setters (bariaš). They are able to set broken bones,
and they are skillful masseurs and familiar with the medical treatments of minor illnesses.
During their rituals they invoke Buddhist divinities (burxan garwal), the most important of
whom is the White Old Man (Buryat Sagaan übgen; Cagaan öwgön). Instead of the drum
(Buryat xese) of the black shamans, the whites have a bell (Buryat xonso) ‒ the same type
of bell used by Buddhist monks in the lamaseries. Buddhist incantation formulas such as
aryaa wade and om mani badme xum are often the initial sentences of their invocations. The
dualism of black and white qualities appear in various forms in the Buryat shamanism and are
associated with the notions of hard (Buryat, xatuu) and soft (Buryat zöölen), heavy (Buryat
xünde) and light (xüngen), and male (Buryat ere) and female (Buryat eme). As Buddhism
is an institutionalized religion and its rituals do not involve the killing of animals, shamanic
practices influenced by Buddhism are regarded somehow weaker, softer and lighter6 than
those of ‘pure shamanism’7. The white8 colour also expresses these characteristics to the
Buryats. The term ‘yellow shaman’ is also used by the Buryats, however less frequently
than ‘white shaman’. The ‘yellow shaman’ is more a Mongolian term directly referring to
its Buddhist elements; while the ‘white shaman’ is more of the Buryats own expression that
alludes to the softness and lightness of it. One would not greatly mistaken by interpreting
these two terms as synonyms.
Having both black and white qualities, i.e. becoming black and white shamans (Buryat
xara sagaaniiye xabsarhan böö), is not only possible but a commonplace phenomenon
among the Buryats. There are also shamans ‒ mainly among the less trained, non-Buryat
apprentices ‒ who classify themselves as yellow and white (cagaan šariig xawsarsan) and
even black-white and yellow shamans (xar cagaan šar gurwuulangii ni xawsarsan), adding
that they are engaged in all fields of shamanism.
The Uriankhai territory
Very little is known about the shamanism of the Altai Uriankhais. The Golomt centre has an
Altain Uriankhai shaman among his members, whose grandfather Darichuluun allegedly was
a famous shaman.9 Nevertheless, neither about him nor about other shamans from the Altai
region do we have considerable data in the specialized literature. There are only rumours and
allusions considering the mere existence or survival of shamanic traditions in that territory.
For example, the Mongolist S. Dulam, in the preface of his book The Tradition of Darkhat
Shamans, writes that it is intended to be the first volume of a series called Texts of Mongolian
6‘Lighter’ in a sense that these rituals do not demand much effort from the shaman.
7Purity can also be expressed by black colour when it indicates that something is homogenous, is not
a mixture of two or more components (yamar č xolicgüi). For example xar us, literally: black water ‒
pure water.
8White colour can also express purity in a sense that something is not dirty (bujargüi), not evil. For
example cagaan sanaa, literally: white intention ‒ benevolence.
9Süxbat, Böö, 143.
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Shamanistic Literature and is planned to be followed by The Tradition of Buryat Shamans,
The Tradition of Uriankhai Shamans and Texts Related to Shamanism in Mongol Script.
The Tradition of Darkhat Shamans was published in 1992, but the other volumes have not
come out yet.10 However, the thought that Uriankhai shamanism might be a rich source of
shamanic texts and traditions already existed at the beginning of the 1990s.
The problem of Khalkha shamanism
The ascertainment that shamanism no longer exists among the Khalkhas is widely accepted
in Mongolia. In fact, there are practising Khalkha shamans, but they have all been trained
by either Darkhat or Buryat masters. In a strict sense the word böö ‘shaman’ only refers to
the masters, the shamans who have been practising for a long time and have apprentices.
Since the revival of Mongolian shamanism none of the Khalkha apprentices have acquired
mastership. It does not mean that they do not have their own apprentices, in some cases
they do, and even their apprentices might have their own apprentices as well. In these cases
the oldest master in the chain is the ultimate master, who controls the whole society of
apprentices belonging to his/her circles. The statement that there are no Khalkha shamans in
Mongolia should be understood that there are no Khalkhas among the oldest shaman masters.
Every shamanic circle has its own traditions, and shamans belonging to the same ethnic
group can differ from each other if they are trained by different masters. Thus, contemporary
Khalkha shamans ‒ following the path designated by their Darkhat or Buryat masters ‒
practise Darkhat or Buryat shamanism. It means that there are in fact Khalkha shamans, in
Mongolia, but there is no Khalkha shamanism. The reconstruction of Khalkha shamanic
traditions is the major concern of many Mongolian shamans, including the Darkhat and
Buryat masters who have apprentices. It is commonly accepted that the extinction of Khalkha
shamanism is due to the spread of Buddhism between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries,
and that institutionalized religious practitioners such as the gürten, the choijin or the lüüjinch
took the place of the shamans among the Khalkhas. These practitioners are also often
referred to as yellow shamans. Apparently based on this rationale, the implements of the
contemporary Khalkha shamans (and also the implements of white and yellow shamans of
the Buryats and Darkhats) are made to resemble those of the gürten, choijin and lüüjinch.
Although Khalkhas usually differ greatly from their Darkhat and Buryat fellow apprentices,
their incantations and the way of conducting their rituals, i.e. the nucleus of their shamanic
practice, is the same.
The attempts to reconstruct shamanism are interwoven with the disturbing notion that
despite the Khalkhas are held to be the direct descendants of Chinggis Khan, not only the
ruler of all Mongols, but also the greatest promoter of Mongolian shamanism, it is in fact the
Khalkhas who have completely lost their shamanic tradition. In contemporary Mongolian
shamanism, where minority descent is an obvious benefit, Khalkhas (who give the majority
of Mongolia’s population) play the least significant role, despite of the fact that Khalkha
apprentices in many shamanic circles outnumber the Darkhats or the Buryats. According
10Dulam, Darxad böögiin ulamjlal.
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to the accounts of a young Khalkha shamaness, Z, descent often reflects discredit upon a
shaman. Z disclosed that she had been instructed by her master (a Buryat shamaness) to
conceal the fact that she was in shamanic circles for her clients might not trust her abilities
and her Buryat and Darkhat rivals would spear no effort to tarnish her reputation.
Urban shamanism
Since the 1990s a number of shaman centres, associations and offices have appeared. Most
of them, which are the smaller ones, are like private enterprises offering shamanic services
such as fortunetelling, healing and solving different kinds of problems. The largest and most
well known of shamanic organizations is the Golomt Centre, in Ulaanbaatar. The Golomt is
not exactly like other shaman centres in the country. Its main goal is to unify those shamans
who follow the traces of their ancestors and practise the genuine traditional way of their faith,
hence the organization’s full name: Mongol Böögiin Golomt Töw (The Hearth of Mongol
Shamans). Organizations of similar purposes can also be found in other parts of northern
Asia, like the Düngür Centre in Tuva or the Xese Xengereg Centre in Buryatia. Golomt
members also have their own offices, and they certainly make some profit from doing their
job, but the costume they wear, the tools they use and the songs they sing are all parts of the
heritage descended from their shaman ancestors. Possessing this heritage is the main factor
which differentiates the Golomt from other organizations. Studying Mongolian shamanism,
though not in an academic way, also fits in the scope of the Centre’s activity. As a result of
their research several papers and a few books have been published in Ulaanbaatar.
Another well-known shamanic organization is the Tengeriin Sülder Böögiin Xolboo
(The Heaven’s Dagger Shamans’ Association) founded on the initiative of G. Gantogtokh,
a Buryat ethnographer and university teacher, who is the president (yerönxiilögč) of the
Association. The Head (tergüün) of the Association was Choijiliin Tseren, the renowned
Buryat shaman, until his death in 2005. The members are all apprentices of Tseren numbering
more than 200 individuals, many of whom are natives of Russia and China. One of the
Association’s main purposes is to lay down the foundations of shamanic education and to
establish a set of rules and regulations that could be applied to the apprentices of different
ethnicity. Thus the Tengeriin Sülder began to take the shape of an educational institution that
even issues certificates and degrees.
The shamans belonging either to the Golomt or to the Tengeriin Sülder are not ‘genuine’
urban shamans. Most of them were born in Khövsgöl or Dornod, where traditional forms of
shamanism are flourishing. Although a great many of them have moved to Ulaanbaatar and
practise there under urban circumstances, they are still adherent to their Darkhat or Buryat
traditions. They might perform their rituals in a living room, but the performances are very
much alike those performed by their masters in the countryside.
‘Genuine’ urban shamans, however, come from other parts of Mongolia, where shamans
are extinct, probably for centuries. One of the most widely known urban shamans in
Mongolia is probably shaman Byambadorj, the author of several books11 on shamanism.
11Byambadorj, Tenger Šütlegiin Amin Sudar.
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He is frequently referred to as a ‘State Shaman’ (Töriin zaarin), and he performs the great
sacrificial ritual for the Burkhan Khaldun mountain, a sacred place near to which ‒ according
to The Secret History of the Mongols ‒ Chinggis Khan was born, and where he used to pray
to Heaven.12 His sacrificial ritual is classified as a ‘State Sacrifice’ (Töriin Taxilga) and is
conducted with the participation of the Mongolian president. Byambadorj was born in Khovd
a province where Uriankhais actually live, but far from his exact birthplace (Darwi sum). It
is uncertain whether he is or not, since he claims that he belongs to the Olkhonud (olxonuud)
clan, which is known from The Secret History, but there is no group of people who would
consider themselves Olkhonud today in Mongolia. Byambadorj has a one-storey brick-house
in Ulaanbaatar called ‘The Centre for Shamanic Activities’ (Bögiin Zan Üiliin Töw), where
he performs his rituals and receives his clients. The building is located next to a private
university called Chingis Khaanii Neremjit Ikh Surguuli (The Chinggis Khan University of
Great Rule), with which Byambadorj and his activities are closely affiliated. It might be of
interest that the university was founded by a Buryat politician, Nyam-Osor, whose political
idea has long been to restore Khanate as the ideal form of the Mongolian State.13
Another important figure in contemporary Mongolian shamanism is Zorigtbaatar, the
uneducated (bolowsrolgüi) shaman ‒ as he often refers to himself. Zorigtbaatar has a plot
with a small building and two yurts in Ulaanbaatar. One of the yurts, the ‘Yurt of Rituals’
(nomiin örgöö) is built on a wooden foundation with wheels, which resembles the bullock
cart of the great khans of the Mongolian Empire. The other yurt is called the ‘Yurt of
Meditation’ (byasalgaliin örgöö), where Zorigtbaatar and his apprentices (4‒6 people in
2004) and followers meditate every Saturday. Zorigtbaatar distinguishes between black and
white shamans and firmly holds to the idea that people should respect only white shamans
for what is white is clear and benevolent while black colour can only bring adversities,
impurity and misfortune. He even prohibits wearing black pieces of cloth during his rituals.
Zorigtbataar despises shamans who foam at the mouth and lose consciousness at the end of
their rituals. According to him these are signs of the black shamans’ deceptive behaivour that
attracts the attention of their audience.
Before a ritual begins, Zorigtbaatar dons his costume, a glittering gown made after the
fashion of the great khans’ caftan and seats himself on his richly carved throne paced in
the northern part of the yurt. After a while he would spring up from his throne as he was
startled by something and he would start speaking angrily to the audience. The rituals always
begin with Zorigtbaatar’s long (one to two hours) speech, during which he elaborates his
ideas about shamanism and the Mongols. Shouting, scolding and vituperation are regular
components of his speech, which is a means by which he gives vent to his anger and lets
his people know that he is greatly discontented with the life of contemporary Mongolian
people. He blames them for their incapability, their powerlessness. He most often lifts up his
words against alcoholism, unemployment and against the desire of many Mongolians to leave
Mongolia for a richer country. He also attempts to convince people about not eating Korean
12Byambadorj, Burxan Xaldun Tengeriin Taxilga, Böögiin Yos.
13Nagaanbuu and Zorigt, Bidnii Meddeg Nyam-Osor.
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Vo. 11, No. 2, June 2010, 229‒238
or Chinese food for they are unfit to Mongolian stomach.
According to Zorigtbaatar, what should be followed and always kept in mind is what he
calls ‘The Essence of Chinggis’ (Čingisiin xoromson): before making a decision or doing
something, Mongolian people should always ponder about what Chinggis would do in the
particular situation. Zorigtbaatar compares the triumphant deeds of Chinggis Khan to the
failure of the most afflicted and distressed people of contemporary Mongolia. The striking
contrast is obviously to make the audience feel shameful and acknowledge Zorigtbaatar as
an authoritative agent of the ideas attributed to Chinggis Khan. The ritual14 itself that follows
Zorigtbaatar’s speech is a singing performance usually accompanied by the play of two
horse-headed fiddles (morin xuur). The incantations are bilingual; first Zorigtbaatar sings
in Mongolian, and then as he claims, sings the same song in the spirits’ language, which
he learned directly from the spirits. As he says this language is intelligible to every spirits
around the world. After the ritual, food and drink brought by the participants are distributed
among them and a flask of sacred water (aršaan) is sold to each of them for 9,999 tögrögs
(approximately 9 US dollars).15
The revival of shamanism in Mongolia is closely connected with the cult of Chinggis
Khan being also a revival of nationalistic pride that had been suppressed during the Soviet era
similarly to other forms of practising religion. It is essential to bear in mind that the religious
revival is mostly about the renaissance of Buddhism, and shamanism plays a more and more
significant but still a secondary role in the religious life of the contemporary Mongolians.
The fact that Mongolians often think of shamanism as their primeval religion (yazguur šašin),
the core of the Mongolian way of thinking, and the essence of nomadism and Mongolness,
makes shamanism provoke the attention of an increasingly wider public. Primarily it is the
ancientness of shamanism that makes people think that it is more indigenous to Mongols
than Buddhism. Darkhat and Buryat shamans’ need for a larger number of apprentices and
clients lead them to the capital where through the miscegenation of different shamanisms and
ethnicities the differences between Buryat, Khalkha and Darkhat shamans might lessen and a
more homogeneous Mongolian shamanism that never existed before might emerge.
Notes on contributor
Mátyás Balogh is an Assistant Professor, Department of Inner-Asian Studies at the Eötvös Loránd
University since 2005. His research interests encompass Mongolic languages and dialects, Mongolian
folk beliefs and Mongols in China. Recent publications include ‘Introduction to the Present-Day
Shamanic Practices of the Buryats in Mongolia’ in Shamans Unbound; ‘Shamanism in Present-Day
Mongolia and a Review of Some Related Books’ in Shaman (vol. 16, nos. 1‒2, 2008) and ‘Shamanic
Traditions, Rites and Songs among the Mongolian Buriads: Meeting a Shamaness and Her Assistant’
in Shaman (vol. 15, nos. 1‒2, 2007).
14He calls his rituals unšlaga ‘reading’, which is commonly used to refer to Buddhist rituals where
lamas recite the holy scriptures.
15As Zorigtbaataar explained, the number 9 is the most auspicious number in the Mongolian culture;
that is why the price of the water consists of nines only.
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11. Asian Ethnicity
Vo. 11, No. 2, June 2010, 229‒238
Author’s postal address: Mátyás Balogh, Múzeum krt. 4/B, 1088 Budapest, Hungary.
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